Brennan Elliott spent two years away from Hallmark after losing his wife to cancer. “A Castle of Our Own” marks his return. He stars as Adam, a contractor who meets Marley (Erica Cerra), a deadline-driven Seattle architect vacationing with her daughter. Their encounter during a beach trip evolves into an authentic summer romance that balances sun-soaked slow-burn chemistry with emotional honesty.
The fictional beach town of Cannon Cove, where the whole story takes place, is really just Victoria wearing a summer costume. If you watched the movie and thought, “I need to go there,” you are not alone. The water looks that blue. The sand looks that soft. Here is everything we know about where the cast filmed, when they filmed it, and what else is worth knowing if you loved the movie.
About A Castle of Our Own
| Network | Hallmark Channel |
| Premiere date | Saturday, June 27, 2026, at 8 p.m. Eastern |
| Streaming | Hallmark+, starting the day after premiere |
| Stars | Brennan Elliott and Erica Cerra |
| Director | Kaylin Metchie |
| Writer | Nina Weinman |
| Setting | Cannon Cove (fictional) |
| Working title | Catching Sand |
| Filmed in | Victoria, British Columbia, Canada |
A Castle of Our Own Filming Locations
Hallmark loves Canada, and British Columbia gets picked again and again. There is a simple reason for that. The province offers ocean views, mountain backdrops, and a town feel that reads as American on screen, all within driving distance of a film crew’s hotel.
For “A Castle of Our Own,” the team set up shop in Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. Victoria sits on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, and it has the kind of waterfront charm that a sandcastle movie needs. Streets near the water, small shops, calm beaches. The crew used the city’s natural look to build the world of Cannon Cove without changing much at all.
Local film trackers and fans on Reddit spotted the crew at several spots around town while shooting was underway, including beach areas across Victoria and a residential stretch near the University of Victoria. One especially specific sighting placed a car scene at the intersection of Dallas Road and St. Charles Street, right along the waterfront.
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Every Confirmed Filming Spot in Victoria
Here is every confirmed filming spot so far.
| Location | What happened there |
|---|---|
| Cadboro-Gyro Park, Sinclair Road | Home of the Cannon Cove Sandcastle Festival, where Marley and Adam build their entry |
| Area near University of Victoria, Finnerty Road | Quiet neighborhood scenes and walking shots |
| Dallas Road | Waterfront shots, plus a car scene spotted by locals |
| Inner Harbour, Victoria | Town and harbor backdrops, cafes and boats included |
| Streets across Victoria | General town scenes that make up Cannon Cove |
| Vancouver | A few extra city and mountain backdrop shots |
Cadboro-Gyro Park does most of the heavy lifting here. Its long, sandy beach is exactly the kind of space you need for a sandcastle contest with two competitive leads and one very determined villain named Gordo.
Is Cannon Cove a Real Town?
No. Cannon Cove only exists in the movie. It is a stand-in name for Victoria’s coastline, built so the story can stay general enough to feel familiar to viewers anywhere. This is normal for Hallmark. The network rarely uses a real town name, even when the filming location is very real and very visitable.
So if you search a map for Cannon Cove, you will come up empty. Search for Cadboro-Gyro Park instead, and you will find the actual beach.
When did the filming happen?
Director Kaylin Metchie announced the project in late February 2026. Production itself, still under the working title “Catching Sand,” got underway in March 2026, according to an active-productions list published by UBCP/ACTRA, the union representing British Columbia’s performers. Filming ran for a few weeks that month before wrapping, which gave Hallmark just enough time to get the movie ready for its summer premiere.
The title change from “Catching Sand” to “A Castle of Our Own” happened sometime between wrap and announcement, which is common for Hallmark projects. Working titles are often more about the plot mechanics, while the final title leans into the romance.
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Behind the Scenes with the Director
Metchie shared a few glimpses of the shoot on Instagram after the movie wrapped. She described directing the film as a genuine pleasure, crediting both her leads and a crew that pushed through rough weather to get the shots they needed. By her account, the production dealt with pouring rain and winds reaching roughly 80 kilometers per hour at points during filming, yet the crew still delivered a polished-looking finished product. She posted additional behind-the-scenes clips from set in the weeks before the premiere, giving fans an early look at Cannon Cove before the movie aired.
Who stars in A Castle of Our Own?
| Actor | Role | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Brennan Elliott | Adam | “Cedar Cove,” “All of My Heart” trilogy, “Christmas in Vienna” |
| Erica Cerra | Marley | “The 100,” “Supernatural,” “Mystery on Mistletoe Lane” |
| Lindsay Gibson | Supporting role | Multiple Hallmark and television projects |
| Sarah Sheehan | Supporting role | Multiple Hallmark and television projects |
This movie also marks something personal for Brennan Elliott. He stepped away from Hallmark for about two years after losing his wife to cancer. “A Castle of Our Own” is his return, and it happens to cast him as a man learning how to let happiness back into his life. The overlap between the actor’s real story and his character gives the romance a bit more weight than the usual summer meet-cute.
What is A Castle of Our Own about?
Marley is a Seattle architect who has let work take over her life, and her relationship with her teenage daughter is paying the price. When her ex backs out of a planned beach vacation, she takes her daughter to Cannon Cove instead, hoping for a week without deadlines.
That plan changes the moment she meets Adam, her next-door neighbor and a contractor with his own architectural eye. The town’s sandcastle competition pulls them together, gives Marley a reason to slow down, and gives her daughter a front-row seat to her mom remembering how to have fun.
Where to watch A Castle of Our Own?
A Castle of Our Own premiered on Hallmark Channel on Saturday, June 27, 2026, at 8 p.m. Eastern and 7 p.m. Central. It started streaming on Hallmark+ the next day, and Hallmark has scheduled encore airings through the rest of the summer season. If you missed the premiere, you have plenty of chances to catch it.
Planning Your Own Cannon Cove Trip
Victoria does not mind being mistaken for a fictional beach town. The city is used to film crews by now, and most of the locations from the movie are open to anyone who wants to visit. Cadboro-Gyro Park is public, free, and exactly as sandy as it looks on screen. Dallas Road has a walking path along the water that locals use every day, movie or no movie. The Inner Harbour has cafes where you can sit, order a coffee, and pretend you are about to run into your own Adam or Marley.
You will not find a sandcastle contest waiting for you. But the view that made the movie worth filming there in the first place is real, and it is not going anywhere
